As my time with House of Brigid comes to a close, it’s been hard to wrap my head around the idea of having to move back home. This truly has been such a beautiful experience in every way, and I truly feel so blessed and grateful for my throughout this experience. The four of us have begun to say our various goodbyes, but it still feels much too soon to be saying farewell to the wonderful people we’ve met! Two weekends ago was our final mass with both the morning and the evening choir. Singing in the choir each week has been one of my absolute favorite aspects of the program, especially because of the community built in each choir. In the morning choir, I always sat next to a wonderful woman named Nuala. She has the gentlest soul and she and I would always chat about how our weeks went and plans for the upcoming month. Nuala was always a ray of sunshine on Sunday mornings for me! In the evening, I was seated in the second row in the Soprano section. I was always laughing and giggling with Maria, an incredible singer who was a consistent cantor at this mass. She always helped me get a second wind since Sundays are longer for the House of Brigid. On the Sunday when we said our farewells, I was asked to fill in to cantor at the evening mass. Although it was not something that was originally planned for that day or something I was expecting to happen, I genuinely was so grateful that I was able to cantor the final mass with Vocare. The amount of talent and enthusiasm in this choir really shines in their singing and is so uplifting. This was also a special mass because one of the House of Brigid members, Maeve, wrote her own psalm that we sang at both masses. I think it’s really wonderful that I was able to sing a psalm that someone in HOB had produced, especially for our final mass all together.
Another aspect of the program that I loved was my Passion Project. As part of the House of Brigid, one of the things you work on during your time here is a project that is not only fulfilling for you, but fulfilling and a blessing for others. I really love crafting, especially a craft called quilling. Quilling is an art form utilizing the twisting of paper into different shapes to form a bigger picture or objects such as ornaments. I wanted to make something for people that they would be able to cherish and keep, so I made different ornaments for the woman at Our Lady’s Hospice in Dublin. I made fifty ornaments and they consisted of shamrocks, various colors of angels, and lots of cute sheep! I spent over ten hours crafting everything, but I really enjoyed every second of it. I have been quilling since middle school, so it’s a craft I’m very comfortable with. Being able to do something I love and giving it to others was so rewarding and something I truly think I would like to do again in the future!
Sadly, I took my final trip out of the country last week. One of the many incredible things about this program is the accessibility we have to travel to so many places that are so close to us. During my time here, I went to Rome, Prague, Zurich, London (twice), Budapest, Barcelona, France, Amsterdam and Belgium, and then finally Venice in Italy. Italy is my favorite country in the world, so I was so happy to visit before returning home. Maeve and I went for three days and were able to see some beautiful sights, go to a jazz club and see an incredible performance, and get some sunshine at a beach on an island called Lido! The weather was stunning and the food was delicious, so overall an amazing trip. I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to see some of the most beautiful places in the world, and will definitely make an effort to continue to do so throughout my life.
In my first blog post, I talked about the importance of gratitude and how it links into every aspect of our daily lives. My mom is someone who introduced saying my gratitudes each day and since the program started, she and I have shared our gratitudes of the day. As my time here quickly ends, I wanted to wrap up my final blog post by saying my general gratitudes of my experience while here in Dublin from September into the beginning of July. I am grateful for the ability to walk and hike and utilize my healthy body to see wonderful parts of Ireland, seeing and visiting some stunning countries throughout all of the seasons, the friendships I have formed since being here with my roommates, the wonderful house we lived in and all of the memories built there, Whatsapp, friends that visited, singing in a choir again, Dunnes, Lidl, a grocery cart, my backpack that got me through every Ryanair flight without being measured, my headphones, the staff that I work with here at Newman University Church, spice bags, Zara, my phone camera, and most of all I am grateful for my path that led me to being here in Ireland for nearly a year. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. It truly was perfect.
